Justice Department abandons Biden-era policy to journalists involved in leak investigations
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will change its policy to allow journalists to hide records and testimony related to suspects.
Bondy wrote in a memo obtained by Axios that federal employees intentionally leaked sensitive information to the media, undermining the Justice Department’s ability to ensure the United States’ security.
“This behavior is illegal and wrong and must be stopped,” Bondy wrote. “So, I concluded that it is necessary to revoke Merrick Garland’s policy, thus precluding the Justice Department seeking records and proclaiming testimony from members of the news media to identify and punish the source of the improper leak.”
She noted that investigative techniques related to news collection are “essential for successful investigations or prosecutions and are an extraordinary measure as a last resort.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a memo that she would amend policies to allow journalists to be called. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP via Getty Images)
Pentagon AIDS claims their character is “slanderous” and there are few details about the leak investigation
She added that the protections were abused, with officials using “media allies” to leak sensitive information for political gain, and the policy often places their phone calls and other electronic records within the scope of the prosecutor.
The memorandum was after the National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard On Wednesday, two intelligence community professionals were accused of leaking confidential information to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution.
According to previous reports, the professionals allegedly shared confidential information with the Washington Post and the New York Times.
The Justice Department said a third criminal referral is expected.
At least two suspected leakers were referred to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
DNI GABBARD transfers Intel officials to the Department of Justice to sue alleged leaks of confidential information
Former Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
Garland’s policy prohibits the Department of Justice from seeking information from members of the news media, which is within the scope of news sets, except in limited specific circumstances.
Bruce D., chairman of the Press Freedom Commission,
“We will wait and see what the policy looks like, but we know journalists will still do their jobs and there is no shortage of legal support to support them,” Brown wrote in a statement.
Attorney General Pam Bondi will edit former Attorney General Merrick Garland’s policies around collecting criminal investigation information from media members. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Gabbard builds new intelligence community task force to restore transparency
Bondy said the department will continue to restrict the use of mandatory legal actions to obtain information from the media or records, including enhanced approval and preview procedures.
The Office of Legal Policy is tasked with creating new languages to reflect the revocation of the Garland Policy.
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Brooke Singman of Fox News Digital contributed to the report.
